Conan And Staff Get $44 Million To Shut Up And Go Away

The deal's done. NBC appears to
have thrown in another $4 million for good measure.

NEW YORK (AP) -- NBC says it has
reached a deal with ''Tonight'' host Conan O'Brien for
his exit from the show, allowing Jay Leno to return to
the late-night program he hosted for 17 years. The deal is worth
a reported $44 million.

Network spokeswoman Allison Gollust confirmed the deal early
Thursday but did not offer any other details. Earlier, The Wall
Street Journal reported that O'Brien will get $32 million and
that the network agreed to pay his staff $12 million in
severance.

The announcement comes seven months after O'Brien took the reins
from Leno.